Mid-Day Market Update: Brocade Surges On Upbeat Results, Cree Shares Fall

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.49 percent to 15,374.75 while the NASDAQ declined 0.24 percent to 3,675.46. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.32 percent to 1,688.69.

Top Headline
Deere & Co DE reported a rise in its third-quarter profit. Deere's quarterly profit surged to $997 million, or $2.56 per share, from $788 million, or $1.98 per share, in the year-ago period. Its revenue surged to $10.0 billion from $9.6 billion. However, analysts were estimating earnings of $2.17 per share on revenue of $9.18 billion. Deere also lifted its full-year profit forecast to $3.45 billion.

Equities Trading UP
MannKind MNKD shot up 14.72 percent to $7.87 after the company reported positive clinical data for AFREZZA. Shares of Avanir Pharmaceuticals AVNR got a boost, shooting up 11.35 percent to $5.09 after the company reported settlement of NUEDEXTA patent litigation with Sandoz. Brocade Communications Systems BRCD was also up, gaining 13.68 percent to $7.84 after the company reported better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Millennial Media MM were down 15.88 percent to $7.15. Millennial Media announced its plans to acquire Jumptap for around $225 million in stock. Analysts at Northland Capital and Canaccord Genuity also downgraded the stock. Cree CREE shares tumbled 20.51 percent to $60.22 after the company issued a weak forecast for its fiscal first quarter. The ExOne Company XONE was down, falling 7.16 percent to $70.25 after the company reported a wider-than-expected Q2 loss.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.97 percent to $105.79, while gold traded up 0.86 percent to $1,331.90. Silver traded up 1.58 percent Wednesday to $21.68, while copper rose 0.29 percent to $3.33.

Eurozone
European shares were mostly higher following the multitude of economic data. The Spanish Ibex Index surged 0.18 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index rose 0.37 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.13 percent and the French CAC 40 rose 0.51 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.17 percent.

Economics
The Mortgage Bankers Association index of purchase activity declined 4.7 percent in the week ended August 9 versus the earlier week. US wholesale prices came in unchanged in July, while the core PPI rose 0.1 percent. However, economists were projecting the overall PPI to increase 0.3 percent, and the PPI to rise 0.2 percent. Crude oil supplies dropped 2.8 million barrels for the week ended August 9, the US Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a 1.5 million-barrel fall. Fed's James Bullard is expected to speak today.